


Dream of a Yamani Garden

by devilinthedetails



Category: PIERCE Tamora - Works, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Beauty - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Love, Multiracial Couple, Nature, Order, Restoration, garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 07:11:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilinthedetails/pseuds/devilinthedetails
Summary: Shinko and Roald dream of a Yamani garden.





	Dream of a Yamani Garden

**Author's Note:**

> Tammy mentioned in an interview Roald serving as a governor of a southern district after the Scanran war so this story plays with that idea.

Dream of a Yamani Garden

The stone wall overgrown with ivy seemed out of place among the gardens of the governor’s castle. Beyond the tidy trellises and triangles of the rose garden, the balanced squares of the lilies and lavenders, and the orderly mayhem of the maze, the stone wall stood so unkempt that its wooden door was hidden by ivy. 

“My apologies for the ugliness.” The gruff head gardener guiding Shinko and Roald around their new gardens didn’t mince words as he gestured at the distended wall. “The last governor made it worth anyone’s position to go in there after his lady died. She was the one who tended that garden. It was hers to look after, and then when she passed, nobody looked after it. It’s a mess in there, I’m afraid.”

“Gardens can be reclaimed,” Shinko commented, soft as the wind wafting through the ivy.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The gardener bowed and held out a silver key that appeared as if it hadn’t been polished since the garden behind the stone wall was abandoned. As she accepted the key with a gracious nod, Shinko worried that it would stain the moonlight silk of her gloves. “Will you do the honors?” 

The door knob and key hole were both obscured by ivy. Before Shinko could risk tearing her gloves, Roald cut away the ivy from the knob and key hole with a sweep of his dagger. She smiled her thanks at him and slipped the key into the lock. Almost immediately, she encountered resistance. In the end, she had to force open the lock by jamming the key deep inside it. 

“There must be dirt and rust in the lock.” The gardener scowled at the key hole. “I’ll have to get someone to clean it.” 

The gardener bowed Roald and Shinko through the doorway. Stepping under the tangled arch of ivy, Shinko saw that what once might have been a lovely garden had been conquered by chaos. Weeds dominated the flower beds, and scraggly bushes had overtaken the curving pathways. 

“The garden is no longer in its glory days, that’s for sure.” Roald was studying what had once been a garden but now was a disaster not as if it displeased him but as if it challenged him. “It must be restored.” 

“Your Highness might do well to have us chop down everything and start from scratch.” The gardener’s boot kicked at prickly bush climbing onto the path. 

“Thank you.” Roald inclined his head. “We will let you know what we decide.” 

“Very good, Your Highness.” With a bow, the gardener vanished through the ivy-covered doorway, and Shinko’s skin shivered with an eerie sensation of being abandoned in a garden that had gone to ruin. 

“We could build a Yamani style garden.” Roald’s voice reminded Shinko that she couldn’t be abandoned when she was with him. Pointing to the ragged bushes lining the pathways, he went on, painting a landscape with deft words instead of careful strokes of a brush, “We could replace those bushes with those hardy little plants that grow in the Yamani mountains. Behind them, we could have cherry blossom trees. Perhaps two shallow ponds, one with step-stones across it, and the other with a bridge and a gazebo on the far side.” 

“In the ponds, we could have carp of all colors.” Shinko was captivated Roald’s vision of bringing beauty to disarray and meaning to madness. 

“Carp like that is only found in the Yamani Islands, Shinko.” Roald stroked her hair away from her forehead. 

“If I request it of him in a letter, my dear brother will send me some.” Her brother would do anything for her if she asked. For years, they had clung to one another in a cutthroat court where their family was in disgrace with the emperor. Of course he would ship her bright carp if she asked. Bright carp were symbols of friendship and love in the Yamani Islands. 

“Then I suggest that you write to your dear brother at once.” Roald bent to kiss her exposed forehead, and she leant against his chest, listening to the measured melody of his heartbeat as the breeze rippled in the ivy arch behind them.


End file.
